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I got some crappy pics of ripping apart a 9004 bulb.

I just need to find somewhere to host them.


I also ripped apart the 9004 plugs in preparation for upgrading the wiring.

First things first, though. I have to get my car running. Now it won't even start up when being jump-started.

This sucks.

BTW, these bulbs come apart really easily. All I had to do was drill out a few small spotwelds and use a pair of dikes to cut off the wires.

The victim:





I taped up the bulb just in case I accidentally shattered it:



Here I drilled out the 4 little spotwelds:



I also ended up cutting off that little metal piece with my dikes. You could also just drill out those welds too.

This is what you end up with (3 wires with one that splits):

Neato.

Josh, you should do that ASAFP and put in your ECE lights! Think if it -- you'll be able to see at night!

All I need now is some wire.

Any particular place I should look for factory-colored 12g wire?

vrg3 wrote:Cool... That's pretty good then.

I just realized something to point out about fused relays -- in order to get the full protection of the fuse, you'll have to mount them very close to the +12v source. Remember that the wire going from the alternator or battery to the fuse is unprotected.

Good point. I might just stick to my current setup, which locates the fuses within an inch of the battery!

So VIkash, what do you say about the silverstars? From what I can see, they don't have the colored glass that most "white" bulbs have. How do they achieve the "white" color then? And are they worth twice the price of a regular bulb?

One more thing. Why do my lights "look" whiter? It might just be a "butt-dyno" thing, but I could've sworn they got whiter after I did the rewire. *shrug*

The silverstars have a blue tint to the bulbs.

It's hard to see when they're installed, but pull them out and you'll see.

Oh, I see.

Yeah, having the fuse right by the +12v source like you have it is the way to go. 10 AWG wire can carry a lot of current -- a lot of automotive jumper cables are 10 AWG!

Assuming you're talking about Sylvania Silverstars, yeah, they do have the blue tint. You're not looking close enough . They're only priced so high because they are being marketed to compete with the other rice lighting products.

Think about it -- have you ever read/heard/seen anything good about Silverstars from anything remotely resembling an authoritative source?

Your perception is correct; your lights actually are whiter now. The filaments are burning hotter.

Now that I know I'm not losing my mind about the whiter lights... hehe. Now if the filaments are burning hotter, does that lower the longevity of the bulb?

How do those XtraVision bulbs work then? I only got the "standard" sylvanias.

Another edit: taking a look at Daniel Stern lighting, in the bulb description there's a listing for a 65 watt ultra high output H7 bulb rated at 2100 lumen. Would these bulbs be worth the $19 a piece? Also, why are these bulbs listed for race applications only? From what I can tell the light cutoff on my headlights is very sharp, similar to an HID pattern. Why would this be blinding to oncoming traffic?

don't have time to read this info, but I'll def take a look at this thread tonight and see about victimizing bulbs.

Yes, you probably will experience a somewhat shorter bulb lifespan, unless the stock situation was bad enough that it inhibited the efficiency of the halogen cycle.

Xtravision bulbs (and other high performance stock-wattage bulbs) are engineered for higher output. They basically take advantage of all the permissible tolerances and use high-precision manufacturing techniques to hug the maximum legal limits. The fill gas is more advanced than standard halogen bulbs', too.

So....just to clarify.....you canabolized a bulb, so you didn't have to cut your stock wiring? Do I have this right, or am I confused?

Yes, that's what he did.

If you did that and simply connected wires from an H4 socket to the cannibalized bulb bases, you'd be able to install your ECE lights right now.

I see what you're saying.

yeah I could do that. My only reservation is.....I've hardly driven the car...at all, let alone at night....in the past 3-4 weeks.

I'm planning on going up to fry's electronics this weekend to get the supplies I need, so I'll probably just wait, but I'll probably use this so I don't have to cut stock harness when I put the ECE lights in.

Also, since I plan on using only one headlight harness, I only needed to cannibalize one bulb.

I emailed Daniel Stern about the plugs, this is what he replied back with.

"Hi, Josh. The relay installation package RIK-H4R contains everything you
need except actual wire -- including high quality H4 connectors that
accept large gauge wire. This kit is $55. Ultra high efficacy bulbs for
the ECE headlamps are $17/ea (not the blue junk!). Can also considerably
improve your brake and rear turn signal lamps ($6.10/ea, 30% more light)
and your reversing/backup lamps ($7.20/ea, 100% more light)."

Thanks for taking the iniative and getting in touch with Mr. Stern. Now I know what to ask for for Christmas ....from myself

-Brian

I asked for specifics on the kit, this is what he replied.

> What exactly does the RIK-H4R kit contain?

2 relays with dual output terminals (one low beam relay, one high beam
relay; each controls two filaments)

2 relay bracket/terminal blocks

12 terminals

2 fused fuseholders

2 H4 sockets

2 9004 "male" plugs to snap onto the car's original sockets and give you
individual wires to work with

All equipment to accept up to 10ga wire. 12ga will be plenty in your
application.

DS

Only thing I'm not sure of is why there is a need for 2 9004 plugs

Because he's probably gonna recommend you do the middle method out of the three that I diagrammed on the first page of this thread. And since the relays he supplies have dual 87 terminals, you won't have to do any joining of wires (assuming you use two separate +12v feeds and two separate grounds).

IC

Vikash,

What do you think of the bulbs DS sells? He lists two classes of bulbs for the H4. I'm assuming I would want the newer ones.

German-made bulbs for headlamps and auxiliary lamps; H4 for high/low beam headlamps and Cibié BiOscar fog/drive beam lamps:

60/55W Osram Silverstar Ultra High Efficacy Plus 50: $17/ea
60/55W Narva Rangepower High Efficacy Plus 30: $11/ea
100/55W Narva: $15/ea
100/90W Narva: $18/ea
130/100W Narva: $19/ea

In his email I believe he mentioned the Osram ones, because that matches the price he stated. What about the higher wattage bulbs from Narva? I'm a little surprised to see those, I thought he was against the higher wattage bulbs?

Any comments on the bulbs to get, these or the extravisions would be appreciated.

His opinion should matter much more than mine. :)

As far as I know, the Osram Silverstar is the highest-performance stock-wattage H4 bulb out there, so it's highly recommended.

Overwattage bulbs work very well if:

1) The headlamp reflector can handle high temperatures (this usually means it has to be made of metal).

2) The headlamp lens can handle high temperatures (this usually means it has to be made of glass).

3) The bulb socket can handle high temperatures (this usually means a quality aftermarket one intended for the purpose).

4) The wiring can handle high currents (this usually means you built an upgraded harness as discussed in this thread).

5) The beam pattern is designed to throw very little upward light, to prevent glare to oncoming traffic, and to provide low-glare seeing (this usually means an ECE lamp meant for the side of the road you drive on).

6) The bulb's base is designed to safely carry high current (this rules out a lot of bulbs, especially 9004 and 9007s; H4 bulbs however have nice large terminals and metal/thermoplastic bases).

7) The bulb is well-made with attention paid to all specifications (the best way to ensure this is to buy from a reputable manufacturer, and avoid stuff made cheaply in Eastern Asia).

8) The lamp is aimed correctly and with care.

If every single one of those conditions are satisfied (I don't think I forgot any), you can get an improvement in performance by using overwattage bulbs. So the vast majority of Americans using overwattage bulbs are being stupid.

So do your European lights have metal reflectors?

Edit: Stupid smilies.